Canal+ cinema deal opens way to reform of windows

French pay TV operator Canal+ has struck an agreement with France’s cinema industry to continue to support movie production in the country and has indicated that a deal is imminent on the thorny question of movies rights windowing in the country.

Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada

Canal+ said its agreement with organisations representing the French cinema industry would see the pay TV operator continue as a partner in production until 2023.

Canal+ signed the deal with cinema organisations BLIC, BLOC and the ARP under the aegis of the country’s ministry of culture.

The operator said that the agreement foreshadowed a new agreement on windowing, which will see the operator offer films on its service from six months after their theatrical release for the first time, compared with 10-12 months currently.

The new windowing regime, which is also set to be agreed by Orange’s OCS, will not apply to the likes of Netflix and Amazon. These companies will be able to reduce their current wait of three years to between 15-17 months if thee agree to invest in movie production.

Canal+ said that the two agreements together would reinforce its position as the biggest contributor to film production in France.

The agreement follows a rupture in relations between the French movie industry and the pay TV operator last month, when Canal+ broke off negotiations with 23 organisations representing the industry over the windowing question, and has been seen as a success for the new French culture minister, Franck Riester, who helped broker it.

Canal+ will continue to devote 12.5% of its revenues to acquiring rights to European films and to invest €3.61 per subscriber per month in long-form moviemaking. The operator secured a reduction to €2.38 for subscribers to its most basic package.